As the month of August winds down and another summer without college basketball comes to a close, the excitement begins to build as another year of close competition in the Big East Conference looms. However, this season isn’t as a clear cut as last season. A few days ago, we tweeted out Sports Illustrated’s power rankings.

As you can see, teams like St. John’s and Georgetown made a noticeable leap, while teams like Xavier and Creighton took a nose dive. Without further ado, here are our rankings for the Big East Conference for the upcoming 2018-2019 men’s basketball season.

Villanova Wildcats

No surprises here. The Wildcats basically lost their entire starting five, but replaced them with a great recruiting class lead by Point Guard Jahvon Quinerly.

2. St. John’s Red Storm

This is all dependent on newly signed transfer Mustapha Heron getting a waiver that will make him eligible to play this season. If he does, him and Ponds will make them tournament bound.

3. Providence Friars

They lost very important seniors like Rodney Bullock and Kyron Cartwright, but returning guard Alpha Diallo and a top 20 recruiting class will keep them near the top of the Big East.

4. Marquette Golden Eagles

Their defense is once again suspect, but their offense, lead by sophomore guard Markus Howard, will help them take a leap this season. Howard averaged 20.4 PPG last season.

5. Creighton Blue Jays

While they lost eventual first-round pick Marcus Foster, Coach McDermott will keep them afloat.

6. Butler Bulldogs

Guard Kamar Baldwin will carry the workload, but do the Bulldogs have enough depth to crack the top five?

7. Xavier Muskateers

Losing coach Chris Mack to Louisville, while also losing leading scorers Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura, really hurts. However, new coach Travis Steele was the right hire.

8. Georgetown Hoyas

In just his second season, coach Patrick Ewing is leaving his imprint, and continues to add talent to the Hoyas. He’ll also have returning senior Jessie Govan. The 6’11 center averaged 17.9 PPG last season.

9. Seton Hall Pirates

In a transition year, the Pirates have a very challenging non-conference schedule, which could spell trouble right out of the gate.